This is Number 2 - Chapter 1
by Roxy.Ross
Summary: First instalment of This is Number 2. Further chapters will include the arrival of Mogadorians and the mysterious text post.
1. Chapter 1

It's a warm morning, and I'm already sweating and my mouth feels clammy. These are the consequences of over-sleeping. Wait. Over-sleeping? Ugh, I'm going to be late again. I roll onto my stomach and fumble in the sheets for my phone, to find that it is 7:55, really late. Obviously Sean isn't up because if he was he would already be shouting at me like a drill sergeant. Shuffling out of bed I throw on my pants while hopping to the door. If Sean wasn't awake before, he should be awake now, the floorboards are hammering beneath my giant sized feet. Why did my feet have to be so big? Makes me look like some kind of clown, it's bad enough that I'm the laughing stock of England; I also _look _like a joke. My shoes are half on half, with the heels of my feet levering on the back of my (far too worn out) Vans. I slam the door behind me, which will most likely mean I'm in for a tedious argument when I get back. I pick my skateboard from the side of the gate and set off on a run.

I enter the school grounds just as the bell chimes, which means I have either 5 minutes to get to room 115 or I'm already late. I hope to Pittacus I'm not because if I am I will have to stay back after school, which means I will miss an hour of training, and I'm already behind. The doors slide open and I tread softly through the atrium in the hopes that a teacher won't see me and scold me for being late. Just when I think I've been caught, I turn to see a year 10 girl who's been pestering me for weeks. "You scared the hell out of me" I say in a single breath of relief "why are you always following me, every time I turn my back you're there". She stares blankly at me and tilts her head "who says you aren't just following me, but you always just end up in front of me?" this thought slips through my mind so effortlessly I have to shake my head, not only to rid this stupidity from my brain but to also show my disinterest in this conversation. I turn on my heel and walk away, and as I do I hear light footsteps and a squeal that just manages to say "hey, wait!" I don't look to check, but I feel her presence, so I continue to look forward to establish some form of superiority. "Why are you always late, it's not like you don't get up early, I see you running at like 6 O'clock!" I slow my pace and look at her. "You know when I run? See? Who's the stalker now?" This makes her stutter and stumble with her words. Is she embarrassed? Maybe she likes me, I wouldn't know why; all of the girls in my year think I'm weird, it's like I said, Clown feet. "No, it's just, urm, well you run by my house, and well..." I cut her off before she turns tomato red. "Well remind me to change my route then." I make this my last comment of wit and head in to my classroom. The bell chimes and I realise this could be my lucky day.

As I twiddle my thumbs in the last lesson, Geography, I let my mind wander to think about that girl. I think her name is Carrie, that's what I heard one of her friends say anyway. I wonder if she does like me, she does seem to know a lot about me, and I'm not awful looking, am I?... Well apart from my feet. She's quite pretty too, for someone younger than me at least. Maybe I should ask her out some time. Wait, what am I thinking, there are like social rules about this stuff, you can't go out with someone younger than you in school! Well that Aiden does, but he's a creep. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we just-"James! Are you listening? What are the differences between a subductive-destructive plate margin and a collisional plate margin?" Mr Dennis is always trying to catch me out for not listening or not doing work, but since this is my lucky day, I already know the answer. "Well, sir" I say, in the most snide way possible "a subductive plate margin creates ocean trenches or something like that." Mr. Dennis narrows his eyes on me, which just provokes me to be cockier, so I cross my arms and lean back in my chair, just as I feel his anger rising the bell goes, so I pick up my bag and and wink on my way out of the classroom. If only every day was like this.

Carrie asked me to walk home with her today, she lives quite far away from me but I didn't mind, so I said yes. I also asked her if she wanted to hang out with me on Saturday night, so we decided to go to the cinema, I bet she'll pick a soppy romance film, all girls are like that. When I did get home, I called to see if Sean was in. He wasn't, luckily (well suited too since it's my lucky day). Heather was though, she's not too bad, but sometimes it's sad to see her with Sean. You see, Sean decided to make our life here as inconspicuous as possible, so he decided it was time to get a girlfriend so we would look like a Real family. Obviously this is far from the truth because Sean isn't even my real dad, never mind Heather pretending to be my real mum. She's okay though, she doesn't tend to bother with me, so I get into my room and research whatever I can find on the Garde. I know we're not in real danger, because the Mogadorians don't even know we exist, so they won't find us on earth. But it would still be good to make sure the rest of the Garde haven't hung themselves or accidentally decapitated themselves. Sean said I'd know if that happened, he also said he didn't know how I would, but when the time came, I would know.


	2. Chapter 2

We got to the cinema about 6:45, and it seemed like it was Rom/Com weekend or something, because everywhere I looked there were teenage couples holding hands, laughing or gazing into each other's eyes blissfully. So cliché. This makes me surprised when the first suggestion of Carrie's is War of the Worlds. Personally, I hate Tom Cruise with all my soul, but a film about aliens that want to destroy someone's home planet, well, reminds me of Lorien. I bought us popcorn and a drink each and we made our way to the cinema number 3, which is when I catch Carrie sniggering at me. "What?" I say, in a half laugh, half question, "It's just the look you're giving all these people kissing, it's like you're going to puke" "I _am_ going to puke, It's sickening" once again she splits into laughter, and I cannot help but gawk at her, because she is really quite stunning. When we sit down, she turns to me and asks about me, and a bunch of other questions. I answer them, as formally as I always do, I do not like having to lie at the best of times but I really did not want to lie to Carrie, she feels trustworthy. If there's one thing I hate about living with humans, it's the lying. First we have to learn the lie, and every excruciating detail, and then we have to recite to every person we make any slight conversation with. It's exhausting. All this, and the Mogs haven't even found us on earth yet, if they ever will. They're definitely taking the time with the whole shebang.

We decided to get the train home. Calling either of our parents would be more trouble than it's worth, and since I'm supposed to be a big alien with superhuman abilities, we should be fine. There are no places to sit down, all the seats are taken by drugged up and passed out men with eyes sunken and clothes sodden, some of the great pleasures of living in northern England. I think this makes Carrie a little on edge because she wraps her arms and chest around my arm. Does she think this is a date? Is it a date? I hope it is, but I still don't really want her to think it is. We stop at our station and as soon as where off she exhales as she loosens her grip on my arm. The rest of the walk home she apologises for being so clingy "I'm sorry, I was just so nervous, they looked like evil aliens or something" This makes me wonder if that is what Mogs look like. "Awhh, did someone get frightened by the big scary film?" I tease, "That's not funny, what if your home planet was really overrun with aliens, what would you do?" This question makes me stop, I feel a chill on the back of my neck. I miss my mother, I miss my father. My real family, my real home. I want to cry but I can't, instead I answer with "I guess it would be quite sad" I continue walking because Carrie is exploding into a bluster about how "I would have no time to be upset" and that "I would be too busy trying not to die" I slip in and out of the conversation thinking about Lorien, how it looked and how I felt. I remember a time with my dad. It was early morning and he was downstairs reading a book. When I entered the kitchen, he looked up at me and said "you're always the first one to start trouble, I guess you just decided to start even earlier today" those were the last words I remember my father say. He died that, in the hands of a Mogadorian.

"James? James!? Are you okay?" we stood awkwardly outside Carrie's house. "I'm sorry I was just thinking about... Aliens" (least I wasn't lying) she cocked her head at me and squinted her eyes at me. "okay..." she fumbles with her hands and looks down. "um, would you like to come for tea tomorrow, there's something I need to talk to someone about, and you're the only person I could think of" Her eyes flicker against the streetlight, are those tears? "what what is it?" I say a little too hasty. Now I know she is really crying because I see streams of water roll off her cheeks and then she says something that makes my stomach turn.

"I think... um I think I'm moving to Malaysia"


End file.
